Evaluation of 802.11 and LTE for Automotive Applications

This paper evaluates coverage prediction and radio performance for automotive infotainment applications. The work compares IEEE 802.11af operating in the TV White Space (TVWS) bands with LTE operating at 800MHz and 2.6GHz. Real world rural and urban databases are incorporated into a 3D ray tracing tool for the purposes of exploring signal coverage and data rates along with virtual drive tests. Results are presented as a function of radio standard, operating band, vehicle speed, user location and packet size. LTE is shown to outperform 802.11af since it is less affected by the multipath channel and the significant levels of Doppler Spread experienced by vehicular users. Results also indicate that 802.11af systems provide superior coverage, especially in rural environments.